"Who... are you?"
Mei struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, her eyes landing on the unfamiliar figure leaning against the corner wall of the living room.
The sunlight behind him bathed the boy in a radiant glow, as if it were embracing him.
The light was blinding. Instinctively, Mei raised her hand to shield her eyes, but the curiosity—and faint hope—in her voice was unmistakable.
"My name's Nagami Kazomu. I'm a friend of Kiana's. Nice to meet you, Raiden-san."
Nagami casually walked over and sat down on the couch beside Mei, glancing at the stunned Kiana standing off to the side.
'I gave you a chance and you couldn't even take it, bro~'
Totally the wrong time for that kind of line, sure, but if this were a typical galgame scene, and I could say what Mei was secretly hoping to hear… well, her affection meter would've spiked instantly.
Since you couldn't deliver, I guess I'll do it myself.
Even in the game, when Mei awakened as the Herrscher of Thunder, she never shook off her "housewife" label.
Heck, she even earned the title "Herrscher of Rice."
But think about it—without Mei, half your Valkyries group would probably starve.
As the Captain, you'd lose a solid 60 stamina points every day!
When you put it that way, doesn't she seem way more useful?
"W-what you said just now… was it true?"
Her voice trembled with hope, but when Mei saw the unwavering certainty in Nagami's eyes, she calmed down, her shaking slowly subsiding.
She tried to get up, but her frail body wouldn't let her.
Nagami and Kiana stepped in at the same time to support her, gently easing her back onto the couch.
"Of course it's true. I don't lie."
'How long has she been crying like this…?'
Seeing the longing etched across Mei's pale face, Nagami quickly followed up:
"There's definitely a hidden hand manipulating ME Corp's stock market. I swear on my ten years as a shareholder."
For a Herrscher vessel, despair is like nourishment.
As long as those dark emotions keep growing, the Herrscher personality inside her will slowly hatch.
Keeping Mei in a stable emotional state was crucial.
If she could just stay calm a little longer, even if Cocolia was secretly flooding Nagazora City with Honkai energy, they might be able to delay Mei's Herrscher awakening.
And don't ask why they didn't just leave Nagazora—what's Nagami supposed to do, charge through an army of Titans?
"…Thank goodness…"
Finally hearing the answer she'd been longing for, Mei drifted off to sleep on the couch.
Unlike Kiana's vague reassurances, Nagami's firm conviction had given her real peace of mind.
"M-Mei… mmm…"
As he felt the warmth of Kiana's breath in his palms, Nagami gave Kiana a look like she was the world's biggest idiot.
Catching that look, Kiana quickly shut up.
She watched Mei shift slightly in her sleep before sighing in relief.
"Let her sleep for now," Nagami whispered softly in Kiana's ear.
"Mhm."
She nodded quickly, showing she understood.
Her sky-blue eyes softened with a hint of heartache as she looked at the sleeping Mei.
She was just about to ask Nagami about Mei's father when she noticed the boy was staring at her with a strangely melancholic expression.
Confused, Kiana tilted her head, question marks practically popping up over her head.
Nagami stared back at this clueless "Tuna," wondering how someone as graceful, gentle, and stunning as Cecilia could've given birth to a blockhead like this.
Oh… right.
K423.
Never mind, then.
Shaking his head, Nagami gently adjusted Mei's awkward sleeping position so her arm wouldn't go numb.
Her long hair fanned out softly, and the tight frown on her face relaxed, revealing a peaceful slumber.
Since she was at home, Mei was dressed lightly—just a breezy dress and thigh-high socks.
As she slept, her pale, bare back peeked through, glowing under the light.
Unfortunately, she was also directly facing the air conditioner.
Shivering in her sleep, her toes curled inside her white stockings, instinctively pressing into the couch cushion for warmth.
Nagami turned off the AC, then picked up a coat that had been tossed to the floor and draped it over Mei's legs.
Cold seeps in from the feet first, after all.
She might still be an ordinary girl for now, and it was better to be cautious.
Like a teacher demonstrating a lesson, Nagami carefully tucked her in and let out a quiet sigh, glancing at the suddenly enlightened Kiana.
'And you think you're ready to woo Mei?'
'You've got about twenty thousand years to go, kid.'
Still, with that Kaslana charm buried somewhere inside, she'd probably manage to attract girls eventually.
That bloodline was too dangerous to ignore.
Nagami leaned back into the soft couch, hands behind his head, stretching lazily.
Kiana plopped down beside him, her gaze locked onto him like a curious cat, stars practically dancing in her eyes.
She felt like Nagami might be able to teach her a lot about how to charm girls.
Schemes and ideas began bubbling in her head.
More importantly, since Nagami and CC had been roommates for a while, he probably knew all sorts of things about her habits.
If she could get Nagami to give her some pointers—and combine that with her own natural charm—wouldn't she have it in the bag?
If this were the in-game timeline, where Kiana's feelings for Mei had already reached full-on yuri beast mode, she probably wouldn't even spare another girl a second glance.
But now, with CC having appeared not long after Mei, and her feelings for Mei not yet fully developed, it was no surprise that Kiana was still torn.
Nagami narrowed his eyes slightly, a knowing smirk curling his lips as he noticed Kiana's strange gaze.
He figured she wanted to learn how to flirt with Mei—but he'd never guess that CC was still occupying most of her mind right now.
His eyes briefly flicked to Mei's smooth neck, remembering the faint purple marks he'd seen earlier.
Then he glanced at Kiana's delicate hands, recalling how they'd effortlessly blasted open the door.
'I need to get stronger—fast.'
On top of that, it was time to start seriously improving his physical condition.
Nagami had always been a homebody gamer, and while he wasn't completely useless, his fitness wasn't even on par with an average adult man, let alone a Valkyrie.
If his body couldn't handle the Honkai energy, even if he managed to gain control over it, he'd be nothing more than a weak container that might fall apart under pressure.
Of course, doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and running 10 kilometers every day was out of the question.
He wasn't trying to become Saitama.
He didn't need to train like an anime hero just yet—what he lacked most was power.
Honing techniques could wait.
For now, the priority was unlocking and mastering Honkai energy.
When it came to focus and execution, Nagami could be surprisingly resolute.
He'd never had a problem with procrastination—neither in his past life nor this one.
He didn't need to be a close-combat master—just good enough to hold his own.
His real goal?
To be like the Third Awakening Elementalist in DNF who could play "Planet Pong" with celestial bodies.
Or maybe even go one step further—"Universe Pong," perhaps?
Compared to Accelerator and his ten-times-universe-busting power, that might not even be a stretch.
…Just kidding. Obviously.
Still, those outrageous power levels were part of what made Nagami suspect that the Toaru universe was fundamentally different from all the others.
Planet Pong sounded way more realistic anyway.
With his overpowered Alpha Stigma ability, Nagami felt like his goal wasn't entirely out of reach.
For once, Kiana was uncharacteristically silent, her sky-blue eyes quietly watching Mei's sleeping face.
The whole room fell into a gentle, peaceful silent.